The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1887-12-22
WHOLESOME RECREATION
DISCOURSE BY DR.. TALMAGE IN THE
BROOKLYN TABERNACLE.

DISCOURSE BY DR.. TALMAGE IN THE
BROOKLYN TABERNACLE.
The Gymnasium as 4 Means of Reeuper-
atiug Mental and Physical Energies.
E9usic Source of Illiuaitable Reerea-
tion and Amusement.
BaooKLYn, Dee. 1s.-At the Taber-
nacle this morning the whole congrega-
lion sang the hymn beginning:
Tbs hal Of Zion yields
AthoHsand sacred sweets
HeGore we reach the heavenly fields
Or walk the golden streets.
The Rev. T. De Wist Talmago, ID. D.,
preached on s'Recreations Good and
Bad taking two texts: / Cor. vii,
81: '.They that use this world, as not
abusing it; and JUDGES xvi, %: isAnd
it came to pass, when their hearts
were merry, that they said, Call for Sana-
son, that ho .lnay make US sport. And
they called for Samson out of the prison
house; and he made them sport. = DIR.
Tallnage said:
We are entering the gayest season of
the year. The winter opens before us
the gates of thousand amusements. some
of them good and some bad. One of my
texts will show you that amusemenbs
may be destructive, my other text will
show you that amusements may be under
the divine blessing and direction.
There were 1900 people assembled il
the temple of Dagon. They had come to
make sport of eyeless Samson. They
were all ready for the entertainment.
They began to clap and pound, impatient
for the amusement to begin, and they
cried, s'Fetch him outl fetch him out!''
Yonder see the blind old giant coming,
led by the hand of child into the very
midst of the temple. AT his first appear
ance there goes up shout of laughter
and derision. The blind old giant pre-
tends he is tired, and wants to rest him.
self against the pillars of the house: SC
he says to tho lad who leads him, ''Show
me where the main pillars are" The
lad does so. Then the strong man puts
his right hand on one pillar and his left
hand on another pillar, and, with the
mightieat push that mortal ever made,
throws himself forward until the whole
house comes down in tllundero,ls crash,
wine press. ''And SO it came to pass,
when their hearts were merry, that they
said, Call for Samson, that he may make
us sport And they called for Samson
out of the prison house; and he made
them sport. -
In other words: There are amusemente
that are destructive, and bring down dis
aster and death upon the heads of those
who practice them. While they laugh
and cheer, they die The 5000 who
perished that day in GAIA are as nothing
compared with the tens of thousands who
have been destroyed by sinful aInuse-
ments.
But the other text have read implies
that there is a lawful use of the world as
wen as an unlawful abuse of it, and the
difference between the man Christian anc
the man n-Christian is, that in the form
er case the man masters the world, while
in the latter case the world masters him
For whom did God make this grand ant
beautiful world? For whom this won
derful expenditure of color, this grace
fulness of line, this mosaic of the ground
this fresco of the sky, this glowing fruit
age Of orchard and vineyard, this full or
chestra of the tempest, in which the tret
branches flute, and the winds trumpet
and the thunders drum, and all thu
splendors of earth and sky come clashins
their cyfnbals? For whom did God sprins
the arcled bridge of colors resting upor
buttresses OF broken storm cloud? Fo
whom did he gather the upholstery o
fire around the window of the setting
sun? For all men; but more especially
for his own dear children.
IL YOU build q large mansion, ant
spread great feast after it to celebrat'
the completion of the structure, do yot
allow strangers to come in and occupy
the place while you thrust your owl
children in the kitchen or the barn o.
the fields? OH, no. You say: 81 an
very glad to see strangers i'll my man
sion, but my own sons and daughter
shall have the first right there. = Nov
God has built this grand mansion of ;
world, and he las spread Il glorious feas
in it; and while those who are stranger
20 his grace may come in, I think tba
4 God especially intends to give the advan
tage to his own children, those who ar
the sons and the daughters of the Lort
Almighty, those who through grace cal
look up and say, abba, Father" YoV
cannot make me believe that God give
more advantages to the world than Ii
gives to the church bought by his owl
blood. If, therefore, people of the worlC
have hooked with dolorous sympath,
upon those wlo make profession of r.a
ligion, and haye said, ''Those new con
verts arc gong down into privation an,
into hardship Why did not they tarr,
a little longer in the world, and hav
some of its enioyments and amusement
and recrcations?n | say to such men o
the world, s'You are greatly mistaken,
and before l get through will show tina
those people who stay out of the king
dom of God have the hardships and sci
denials, while those who come in hav
the Joys and the satisfactions.
This morning, in the name of the Kin
of heaven and earth, / serve writ G
eiectment ON all the sinful and pollutte
who have squatted ON the domain {
earthly pleasure as though it belonged
them, while | claim, in behalf of til
good and the pure and the true, the etel
nal Inheritance which God has give
thcm.N
Hitherto, christian philanthropist
clerical and lay, have busted themselvt
chiefly ia denouncing sinful recreation
but feel we have no right to stand b
@ore men and women in whose hear
there Is q desire for recreation aInountii
to positive necessity, denouncing this an
that and tho other thing, when we {
not propose to give them something be
ter. God helping me this morning, an
with reference TO my last account, Isha
enter upon sphere not usual in sermon
izing, but a subject which think oligl
TO be presented at this time. | propo
now 70 lay before you some Of the recr
ntions which are not only innocent, bl
positively helpful and advantageous.
In The first place, / commend, amor
indoor frccreations, music, vocal and il
strlhnental Among the FIRST things or
ated was the bird, so that the earth inizl
s1zsaza